Bad enough that the SFPD had one of its own cars stolen from right in front of a police station this past weekend and dumped in Oakland. What's worse is the sneaking suspicion that the perps may themselves have been cops.

Here's the story.

For a long time, two unmarked police cars parked at the Tenderloin Task Force's station on Eddy Street have been at the center of a tug-of-war between undercover cops, who primarily work during the day, and beat cops on the night shift.

The beat officers frequently borrowed the Ford Crown Victorias for everything from special assignments to getting a cup of coffee. Sometimes, however, the cars weren't returned to their regular parking spaces and weren't exactly in spotless condition - irritating the undercover crew no end.

About a year ago, the undercover officers began locking their steering columns with anti-theft devices. Their uniformed colleagues cried foul, saying the cars belonged to the department and weren't the exclusive property of their undercover brethren.

Finally the station brass weighed in, agreeing to have the keys to the anti-theft devices kept with a station lieutenant.

That worked until the keys went missing.

Finally, about a month ago, the station gave up on the steering locks altogether.

Which brings us to early Sunday, when someone made off with one of the Crown Victorias from its Eddy Street space. It was missing for more than 24 hours, until the cops got a call from their colleagues across the bay asking them to come over and pick up the car from West Oakland, where it had been abandoned near a freeway on-ramp.

There was no evidence that the car had been broken into or that the ignition had been tampered with, suggesting somebody had used a master key.

All of which prompted speculation around the Hall of Justice that the "theft" might actually have been a beat cop pulling a prank to get back at the uptight undercover cops.

"This is something we may not be able to prove, but we absolutely know it," one officer who didn't want to be named told us Tuesday.

Tenderloin Task Force Capt. Gary Jimenez, however, said that as suspicious as it may appear, there is no evidence that the car caper was anything but a routine auto boosting.

"Some person needed a ride to 21st and Union (in Oakland), and they had one free on the San Francisco police," Jimenez said.

Because the car was parked on Eddy in a way that blocked it from the station's surveillance cameras, we may never know - as there is no record of the crime.

No sooner did we report Sunday on Friedman's speaking fee than the story made its way onto a number of Web sites, drawing heat from readers.

Tuesday, the consultant who organized the climate summit phoned air district officials to say the Pulitzer Prize-winning pundit was returning the money.

Friedman's agent said that the columnist doesn't charge local government agencies for speaking and that the fee had been a mistake.

"It seemed pretty clear that we were a government agency, and that issue never came up," air board spokeswoman Lisa Fasanosaid Tuesday. She added that the event organizer had even tried to negotiate a lower fee with Friedman's agent.

RIP: It's with great sadness that we report the passing of James Kessler, the cancer-fighting San Francisco high school student whose dream of meeting Barack Obama came true right before the presidential election.

Kessler's mom, Jean Rowcliffe, phoned to say 17-year-old James slipped away quietly at home early Saturday, succumbing after months of battling a rare form of sarcoma.

As we reported back in November, James' biggest wish was to meet Obama in Chicago on election night.

After the Make-a-Wish Foundation contacted The Chronicle, James' request was forwarded to the Obama campaign - which led to a surprise offer for the teen to fly to Henderson, Nev., to meet one-on-one with the Democratic nominee the weekend before his election.

Obama urged James to "dream big" and said he looked forward to having him at the inauguration if elected.

James made it to Chicago to witness Obama's election night victory speech. Then, on Jan. 20, he was among the hundreds of thousands of people who braved the cold in Washington, D.C., to watch as the new president was sworn in.

The Stuart Hall High School senior and class president continued to attend classes until about two week ago. Last Tuesday, as his condition deteriorated, he received his diploma during a short bedside ceremony, attended by the head of the school and several teachers.

"James lived and died with courage, integrity and grace," his mom wrote in a family journal. "I don't blame him for stretching out his passing - he had such fun here and did not want to leave."

A memorial service for James will be held at Grace Cathedral on Saturday at 11 a.m.